Friday, November 8, 2013

Each week throughout the football season I'm going to suggest a good beer for the ubiquitous pre-game tailgate. Let's be honest, with tailgates it's not always top quality that you're looking for. To steal a phrase from the heinous beer terrorists at Budweiser, you want "drinkability." (or what a real beer connoisseur calls "a session beer") So, be warned, these may not be "the best" beers around. But, in the words of Dave Chappelle as Samuel L. Jackson "IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!"

Seattle and Washington aren't the brewing powerhouses that neighboring Portland and Oregon are (unless you count the brewing of coffee, which I don't). In fact, the local market is dominated by conglomerate brands like Redhook who distribute through the InBev consortium. Lame, I know.

Still, since RedHook is one of the few Seattle breweries that distributes out here, in honor of CU's trip to the Queen City, I'm tabbing their ubiquitous ESB as my gameday beer-o-the-week.

Redhook's ESB has been around for more than 25 years, having been brewed since 1987. The ESB stands for 'extra special bitter,' an English style of pale ale that favors a high-alcohol balance between strong malt flavors and base hop characteristics. Redhooks version, coming in at a little under 6% ABV, is a passable take on the style, about what you would expect from a corporate-backed brewery.

A six-pack is easy enough to come by at most liquor stores across the county, leaving it one of the wider-reaching selections of the season. Give it a go, and take a break from the more complicated tastings of my usual picks.